I don’t expect sympathy but struggling with a serious injury is so difficult says Baggies star James

Robson-Kanu Phillips Barnes Gayle

LEEDS will be hurting through the international break, nursing wounds, worrying if they will come back as good as they were at their best.

James Morrison what that is like.

He has hardly played for two years because of a ruptured hamstring and then an Achilles injury that restricted him to four Premier League games as West Brom were relegated.

He was out of contract and at 32 his future was bleak. But knows the midielder worked through the summer for free, impressed manager Darren Moore and earned himself a one-year deal.

If Leeds, bashed up badly by West Brom, are looking for recovery and inspiration when they kick-off again at home to Bristol

City a week on Saturday, look no further than Morrison.

“I’ll just sit by myself and reminisce how far I’ve come,” he says of his fightback.

“This time last year I was in a bad hole.

“God, I broke down four times and you think, ‘Am I ever going to get back, is this it?’ I’m no spring chicken.

“I spent a month on my own in Qatar, working, trying to get fit in a rehab centre.

“Then there was a decision to come back and try to go out on a high.

“I’m not making this up for a bit of sympathy. The struggles you go through with a serious injury are massive. I still deal with that now – the doubt.”

Leeds will be a mirror image of that. They were taken apart by West Brom, bagged up and beaten well before Pablo Hernandez looped in a late header .

Barry Douglas apologised for his row with the management when he was subbed with 17 minutes of the pasting still to go.

“I apologise for my reaction, it was unprofessional of me,” said the Scot.

I was disappointed at the score and emotions got the better of me”.

Impressive Hal RobsonKanu and Matty Phillips, both helped by Leeds keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s mistakes, put West Brom two up before Douglas went off.

Harvey Barnes and sub Dwight Gayle, with a brilliant back-heeled goal, added two more while Douglas simmered.

“It was a bad night for us. But that is football. Sometimes you have a bad day,” is how Hernandez shrugged it off.

Bad? It’s hard to believe Leeds could have gone back top with a win.

Manager Marcelo Bielsa’s attempt to protect his players and put the blame on himself was so bizarre that even his interpreter looked unconvinced as he spoke the Argentinian’s words.

Bielsa (left) had a plan, his players failed to implement it. So blame him.

How does that work? West Brom are back in business after a poor run of form and with 37 goals in 17 games, they will take some stopping.

Morrison is just glad to be part of it.

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